The Lost Blade The Story of the 44th Wind Sword
by Psygonis
Summary: This story takes place in the Lylat system but is not exactly a StarFox fanfic. More intel about the 44th Wind Sword on my website on the background page: psygonis. lylatwing. com pages 44ws 44wsbgen .html copycorrect this link in your browser
1. Raid on Meteo

**Chapter**** 01: Raid in Meteo**

There's neither day nor night which can rhythm time in an asteroids field. Only Life, far and thrusting does imposes its march across the stars. So it's now 9:47 AM, cornerian time arbitrary transposed to this part of Meteo and a hyperspace breach tears space in two. From this lightning sprang tree stars, under a layer of dust in fire. After their passage, the immaterial breach collapsed, leaving nothing more than a weak trace of ionic energy. As soon as they got rid of their coat of impurity, their shapes turned into the ones of space fighters. The painting on their hull was already collapsing, but the sign of the 5th Cornerian Star Fleet was still recognizable. At its side laid a sword piercing a wing at its base with a sliced planet. Around this symbol were the name and ID of the team it belonged, respectively "Psyonic Strikers" and "44th Wind Sword". Reaching their formation positions, the three ships stopped.

"Here it is, Meteo." The voice of the feline who took the floor was the one of the chief of the squadron, Cpt. 1st Dockuri Nosey. "Calibrate your TFN on the flight plan provided by the HQ just before we jumped here." Two holographic screens showing the heads of his teammates, Kaolla Novelty and Adam Sight appeared in front of him in the cockpit.  
"- It's the first time that we've got a mission here, isn't it? Shift, Leader. Copy. I'm heading to NaviPoint-1, Dockuri.

- Recon here, idem. Kaolla, I cover you.

- Roger that Adam.

- Leader, Recon. Adam, I'd rather have you focused on the zone scanning. Perform an LRS as often as possible and keep your eye wide open, I'll protect Kaolla.

- Understood, Leader.

- Dockuri, could you still not bear that you're not the one in charge of my protection?" Here birdy tone was as merry as always but Dockuri didn't take it this way!

"- Keep that kind of comments for later… We're going now.

- Keep cool, don't take it for yourself!

- Just go and set up the traps on those rocks and everything's alright. I just have a bad feeling about today… Adam, is there nothing to signal on your screens?" The dragon waited before answering. His Long Range Scan didn't reveal anything suspicious for the moment and his Arch-metrist skills didn't provide any additional elements to these of the embedded CPU.  
"- All clear, only radar echoes classified in civilian and commercial class. However, my IFF beeps green on the whole quadrant.  
- Right, good thing… Kaolla?

- Yes Dockuri?

- We've reached NaviPoint-3. Deploy the mines on the designated asteroids.

- Copy, Leader. This shouldn't take much time…

- Take the one needed; as long as Adam doesn't detect threats, we're not in a hurry.

- I know, I know… And now, why not spraying dust around Adam instead of getting on my nerves like that?

- Uh, sorry. I just really don't feel it right. It's surely because of that awful coffee I drank this morning. I shouldn't drink it while perfectly knowing it though…

- Dockuri?

- Okay, I'm on my way.

So Dockuri's ship moved out from Kaolla's trajectory and headed to Adam's fighter, stopped. This last, whereas the others, was piloting the standard fighter designed for a Wind Sword team, a long vessel, sharp-shaped and featuring a weaponry which was fast and accurate but as light as the ship itself. This ELSpaF-12 was a great resume for the purpose of the Wind Sword's, little and efficient elements… and also swift enough to be untouchable! And it was especially true for this team, the only one composed by Shadamars, the only one using the ES3 cloaking modules, the only one alive in fact…

In comparison with the one of Adam, the custom A3F-75 of Dockuri, the "Docku" looked more brutal and unstoppable, thanks to its compact structure. Its two twined "Inferno" plasma turrets were as efficient as the proton canons of Adam's ship, but with a far higher firepower. Less fast, but more maneuverable, the Docku allows a wide range of advanced move to its pilot. Three partial fusion engines feed a robust deflective shield capable of absorbing what the dexterity of the pilot couldn't dodge. But this potential isn't granted for all. The number of commands and parameters to permanently setup for getting a dynamic and smooth response is enormous, especially for a single-seat fighter! So was developed the APTaNavI, standing for Advanced Psychoneurale Tactical Navigation Interface, a system which uses a Psyosis stream detection device to interpret additional flight or combat commands. It is of course accessible to Psykeists only and is an absolute necessity in order to master the Docku. As Dockuri, this fighter sacrifices some of its own security for the deployment of an outstanding offensive panel.

"- So, still nothing to signal?

- Hum… I've got a strange echo approaching. Its psyonic disturbance is weak, but it seems concentrated somehow.

- Somehow? Like a heavy object, but… inert?

- It changed! The echo just divided, multiple contacts in tight formation. Hyperspace coming up in 23 seconds at 4.6 of distance.

- Drones?

- Nope, still too light.

- What else then…?" Suddenly, the memory of a previous mission around Sector Y came back in his head. He headed his fighter backward and rushed on Kaolla who was still deploying her mines. "Kaolla, get out of here!

- What's happening, Dockuri?

- ISITs, lots of them and in our direction!

- That's not possible Dock'. These torpedoes use hyperspace jump-frames to travel, ok, but they still need a guidance node in the zone to lock on their targets. If a telemetry vessel was around, Adam would already have detected it…" The designated dragon cut their speech:

"- Recon, Leader. Whatever it is, it's appearing, now!

- Got it Adam! Enable your ES3. Torpedoes or not, it won't lock on us if we're…"

Dockuri didn't finish that space tore in two, spitting a line composed by a dozen of shining points. So that was ISITs. By a couple of seconds, they scattered and instead of keeping their original trajectories adjusted it, pointing on 44th Wind Sword's position. Kaolla leaped up on her seat! "No way! How would they spot us?" Distance separating Dockuri and his flight mates from the ISITs was critically decreasing when he decided to perform a tactical move:

"- Kaolla, Adam, make a TEM-07, now!" Kaolla replied on the go.

"- You mean with our auxiliary rockets? How insane!

- Those things just can't have locked us up, do what I say for a while!"

No time left to think; the three ships executed a well done Tactical Emergency Maneuver number 7 and managed to dodge the torpedoes. Apparently without their targets, they crashed on the first asteroids on their way behind the little group of fighters still cloaked. Suddenly, a giant explosion blew, sweeping away the 44th Wind Sword in various directions. Stuck to his sticks, Dockuri was desperately trying not to collide with the sprays of rocks surrounding him.

"- What's the…?

- My mines Dock'! ISITs hit the asteroids on which I deployed them.

- Is everybody alright? Kaolla!

- I'm ok. There're only scratches on my brand new hull, but my ES3 overheated to absorb the deflagration.

- What about you Adam?

- A little surprised, but I slowed the shockwave on my ship. All my systems are still green.

- Ok, let's get out of that hell first…"

The ships of the 44th Wind Sword stabilized their trajectories and moved out from the cloud of pulverized rocks into which this area of Meteo had become. In formation, they kept their distance not to let collisions occur. "- Kaolla, how many mines remain?

- A half-dozen… It seems that all the ones put have exploded!

- How many?

- Six, job was half-finished." Dockuri was now still. He tried to assemble a puzzle which scale and number of pieces were both unknown… Adam took the floor: "- Dockuri, I've noticed that none of the torpedoes tried to adjust their way, during or after our TEM.

- Hum, now that you say it, that's true Adam." Kaolla carried on.

"- And they were twelve ISITs and there was twelve mines, as if… their target hadn't been us! Or at least not the main one.

- You mean the asteroids?

- Do you remember? I said you that ISITs need a lock-on relay to reach their targets.

- Yep, what then?

- You don't understand? Asteroids of the scale of the ones I was trapping don't move themselves enough so its position is approximately the same during the time between the launching of an ISIT and its arrival. Add a real-time calculator and a decent error threshold and it would be a worth bet if you have precise coordinates.

- I see. Check this. Compare the positions of our beacons.

- As it was already done.

- Adam, go back to the surveillance of the quadrant, the best is maybe yet to come…

- I'm on my way."

The few seconds which silently passed were heavy for all. As Kaolla and Adam were busy on their screens and devices, Dockuri deeply inspired and closed his eyes to focus. He had to organize an increasing sum of data with each one connecting with several others in order to find a good explanation. Kaolla took him away from his thoughts after a little minute.

"- Dockuri? I compared the coordinates of our broadband frequencies beacons with these of the impacts of the ISITs. And it leads to only two alternatives: One, it's the most incredible coincidence of the year, or either, those asteroids definitely were their targets.

- Ok, thanks.

- So what's next?

- Open a scripted channel with the HQ. Try to get General Pepper on the line if possible.

- Ok, I'll try."

Kaolla enabled her long range communication device and began chatting with the cornerian communication officer while Adam and Dockuri were discussing about probable issues. "-Dockuri, it appears that our enemy wanted to kill two birds with one stone. By destroying the mines during their deployment, they could also have got us crushed in the same time. Imagine that a rock hit Kaolla's cargo. An explosion of six mines at once would have blown us apart, us all. And no need to add that we wouldn't be here anymore to discuss of it now!

- This makes me ask about how they did know.

- A spy, for sure…

- Yep, this is the most probable. I'll ask Kaolla, but I don't think that they just randomly detected some BFB in an asteroid field and spoil that much ISIT for vague signals, wouldn't they?

- I'm not that edged. Remind that an important venomian military traffic should pass here. They may just be more prudent than expected when scanning the zone.

- I don't think so. And what about the day and hour of the launching, huh? This makes too many coincidences…"

Kaolla took the floor to notice that a secure communication channel with General Pepper was ready. His dog head rode out by his big crimson commander cap of the cornerian armies appeared on the holographic projectors of the three ships of the 44th Wind Sword.

"- So, Captain Nosey, what's happening?

- My General, I'm afraid that we may have to abort the mission in Meteo!

- This one is critical, you know that! Explain me everything.

- Kaolla, please proceed.

- Several minutes ago, during my mines deploying task on the designated asteroids, we've been targeted by twelve ISITs.

- You all seem quite alive, that's the essential.

- Indeed, my General, and with good reasons. ISIT's targets weren't anything but these same asteroids.

- Can you confirm that?

- Yes, my General. We compared coordinates and everything matches.

- Do you have an explanation to this, Captain Nosey?

- Several options are to be considered, but we agree to think that our flight plan and objectives coordinates were deliberately transmitted to the enemy!

- A spy then, within our own ranks?

- According to Lieutenant Sight and me, this is the only explanation possible. Our departure hour had been setup only a few hours before the effective beginning of the mission, as for each mission of this type. But their timing for the ISITs launching was perfect.

- We shall have to take care of this problem, the sooner the better!

- Begin with the analysis of the personnel related to the Logistics, Communications Departments and the Strategic Division. Our flight plan did have transited through these services. Please consider this as a personal request, my General. A chance that I didn't lose one of my teammates, that was really tight!

- I understand your disquiet, Captain… I'll transmit this case to the appropriate division immediately. Be sure we'll do the necessary do catch up the traitors! Head back to Corneria; I want a complete brief of the mission on my des…" He got cut by Adam:

- Please excuse me, my General. Leader, I've detected a hyperspace inbound. No ISITs this time, it's far more massive. According to its psyonic disturbance, it should be something of the size of a cruiser, second or third class. She's probably accompanied by several corvettes and Frigate Class Mothership.

- Got it Recon. My General, the enemy surely moves in order to see whether its stratagem worked or not. They may be prepared to encounter an ambush or at least to combat. Shall we intercept them?

- Whatever may its goals be, this fleet represents a threat at this distance of Corneria. Do your possible to contain them or destroy it. The Cruiser third class Mothership "Great Fox" actually crosses through your area. Wait for their support. Captain Nosey, you shall keep the lead during this operation. Pepper, out!"

Connection cut and the hologram of Pepper disappeared. There was not much time left before the arrival of the enemy contingent, so it shouldn't be spoiled.

"- Adam, can you determine exactly where those reinforcements will deploy?

- Their arrival is imminent and their gravitational disturbance gets more precise. But it's still too early; I'll transmit their inbound coordinates as soon as I shall be precise enough.

- Ok. To all ships, get in S/S combat mode. If we are bound to encounter a cruiser, we'll have to use rays weaponry, so switch your offensive systems to "Beam" configuration. Kaolla, your mines load may be a danger for you. But I'm sure they'll fit the hull of their ships if you see what I mean…

- Roger that, Dock'!"

Dockuri seemed out of his previous anxiety, which was not surprising since a combat was about to happen. Since the war against Andross on Taklys, he battled many times against his mechanical hordes coming from Venom. Without losing himself by looking down on those combat drones, he learned to appreciate the execution of these several maneuvers which definitely short circuit very well their AI. So he didn't have any fear to fight them, but still, a little tension always remained within, this wave of adrenaline which roars inside a pilot as his radars are still empty and his hands press the commands of the ships. This excitement was valueless to Dockuri. Enough to make his awfully boring day vanish like the memory of that awfully bad coffee! Adam finally transmitted the inbound coordinates and the team just had the time to spread around in order to act as good hosts for their guests…

How many would they be? Would be harassing? Would there be reinforcements? Will the Great Fox be late enough not to grab too many targets away from the canons of the 44th Wind Sword? Everything was spinning so fast! Definitely, that'd always in a cockpit that Dockuri would feel at ease. The countdown was reaching its end, and it was the one moment to give some final instructions. "Keep your ES3 enabled as long as possible. I want to see the few people alive in their incoming ship kick themselves as they see their whole fleet of drones self-exploding!" And it came, this lightning caused by the hyperspace breach. Dockuri's irises suddenly retracted as time slowed around him. He could feel the pulsations of each system in his ship. A small grin drew on a side of his mouth and he enabled the synchronization of his weapons with the APTaNavI. His finger stressed on the main trigger to liberate the power of the Docku. A long trail of plasma illuminated space and violently hit the hull of the corvette which had just arrived. This last exploded after a series of deflagrations while the other ships were still emerging from hyperspace. Two other "Mareekt" Class ILC, a complete squadron of "Vulture" Type SCD and finally the imposing "Grave" Class SAC-III which had been previewed by Adam. Following Dockuri, Kaolla and Adam engaged combat, still cloaked under the protection of their ES3. In the Command Deck of the cruiser, the "Dagger", a massive silhouette was observing the explosions which periodically illuminating space through the lookout bay. "Be cursed, you Shadamars! You're still hidden behind your wall of electronic cowardice as far as I can see…" Bent and wispier, another one with the shape of a small reptile approached him.

"- Commander?

- What is happening, Captain Drenz?

- Our sensors have confirmed the presence of the ships of the 44th Wind Sword of Corneria.

- Of course that they are them! Now hurry up, the time spent here is heavy in terms of information and materials.

- Yes, Sir. But this will require some more time than previewed. One of our auxiliary sensor arrays have been destroyed on the ILC "Venom-XII" at her arrival.

- That is why we must not spoil our time here! Call a DBF in reinforcement if necessary. We have to keep them here in order to calibrate these sensors.

-Yes, Commander." He turned his heels and moved away while garbling some orders to other officers on the deck. The Commander followed him with a disregarding glance and sighed. Why was he always the one chosen for working with such inefficient subordinates? Then, he turned back to go on observing the battle. He thought that it could be considered as a shooting range for the shadamar pilots. "And where will you hide when your coward's strategy will not be of any use… _Dockuri_?" Outside, the venomian losses were still increasing. But still, the issue wasn't given for the 44th Wind Sword. The Dagger was still spitting her drones and the two remaining ILC were keeping up shooting everywhere, not to say randomly. Suddenly, a lucky artillery operator managed to pierce the ES3 shield of Dockuri's ship, so that its cloaking effects stopped. "My ES3 is down, it's gonna become more interesting!" But Kaolla didn't appreciate the situation the same way. "- Dockuri, you brute! What have you done to _my_ ship?

- _Your_ ship?

- Don't change the topic!

- It's alright, no big deal. Don't worry; _your_ embedded diagnostic module should handle that…

- You'd rather be right since it's not in that crap that I'd take care of it myself.

- It's ok, trust me. This bastard just had luck! I'm gonna teach this ILC the good manners…"

Dockuri strafed on his left in a series of barrel rolls and aligned the trajectory of his damaged ship on the one of the "lucky" ILC. While his targeting interface locked on the corvette, he selected fragmentation missiles by moving his right thumb on the stick. He couldn't launch any during his first passage because of the flak's firing but his Inferno turrets, adjusted on the shield projector of the ILC hit it and the external protection of the ship collapsed. Dockuri rose and kept his distances before charging it back by its side. Meanwhile, he fired three of his projectiles. The deflagrations of the sub munitions turned into pieces the flak guns of the ILC on the side. Then, he remained there to stay under cover and put the Docku just in front of the command deck. He couldn't see through the lookout bay but he clearly imagined the faces of the officers, stricken by panic and running everywhere. He smiled and switched on his broadband radio. "To the ILC which had the wayward to damage some cornerian military material, I'd like to draw you a penalty but your ID number isn't clear." He laughed and enabled with the APTaNavI the initialization sequence of the most powerful weapon of the Docku, the pair of psyonic canons on the end of his right wing. The concept of psyonic canon is a bit strange, since it's obviously impossible for a machine to directly manipulate Psyosis. But of course, the energy provided by a psykeist pilot is usable if it's well placed. So Dockuri focused to charge to Metalith core in the induction chamber of the canon. The psyonic reflection of this rare ore is the highest possible in the universe and the energetic induction cycle created only after several seconds. Dockuri didn't need the gauge which holographicly appeared in his cockpit since he could feel the load increase. A moment later, the shooting energy border was reached; he stabilized the cycle and configured the crystalline output lens to get a powerful beam. At this distance of an unprotected ILC, a great firework was yet to come. With his finger on the trigger, he switched on his radio again. "Well then… Even if I can't send you a contravention, just transmit my greetings to your boss when he'll join you!" Dockuri cut the line and pressed the metal piece until he can't make it go further. From the outside, the spectacle was even more fascinating than from his cockpit. The bright lightning which linked the Docku with the ILC was glittering and generating some blue interference phenomena. The beauty of the assault itself could had made its performance just like pale, even if the ship had been pierced from a side to the other one! Before this last exploded, Dockuri barely had the time to leave its vicinity and come back into the heat of the battle.

The last ILC was about to join the other ones. Kaolla and Adam, which had left the dogfight a moment to take care of the interception batteries of the corvette, were harassing it, overloading her shields with well placed shots. During an acrobatic slide flight, Kaolla anchored two of her remaining mines near the hull of the ILC. She went away and warned Adam through the HoloCom and she turned back to align her mines. But the bolt which hit it wasn't from her Railguns but from the Docku rushing straight on the ILC. The deflagration blew away the rest of the ship's protection and active the second charge. As the ship sank into a dense bubble of fire, the Docku went through the cloud of smoke, dissipating it around his ship by enchaining the barrel rolls. From her cockpit, the bird couldn't stop yelling at his teammate!

"- Have you gone completely mad or what?

- You're a bad looser Kaolla…

- What? Me, a bad "looser"? At least, I'm not a reckless cheater!

- You just had not to leave your stuff trail along.

- Do you realize that you could have made me grill?

- If you turned there, that would mean that you felt safe, right?

- It's… It's not a reason. She was my ILC!

-Well, ok… We'll count _your_ corvette on your stats, right?

- Yep, you'd better do that, _Captain_!"

On the Dagger's deck, everyone was hurrying, motivated by the accomplishment of their tasks because of the fear of being shot by the enemy fighters outside, or the wrath of the Commander inside… The "You useless stack of metal scraps!" were punctuating the "Bunch of incapables!" which resonated in the command bay. Three ILC had already been destroyed and at least the equivalent of two complete battalions of Vultures! But he knew that all those floating wrecks would mean nothing to Andross. If his mission turned into a success, a great sharp would be pulled away from the foot of his Emperor. This cursed Wind Sword project just had to be forgotten again, like this forsaken planet should have stayed. Those few Shadamars alone represented a force able to influence the outcomes of a battle or an operation and especially those damn cloaking systems ES3. If Andross decided to force the Shadamars to cooperate, that was mainly because of their obstinate refusal to share their technologies. The fact that they accepted so fast to adapt this kind of devices on cornerian ships had turned him into an intense state of wrath. Yes, Taklys definitely should have stayed the legendary Hydryldan of the antic times of the Corneruses, the jail planet of a banned people. As he thought this, the Commander had a light grin. This enemy was well known of him and he of course knew that underestimating them was a dangerous mistake!

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the roughly synthesized voice of a navigation operator droid: "Hyperspace inbound. Signature confirmed as Class III Cruiser. FFI Transponder: Corneria. Arrival at engaging distance 9.2 in 15 seconds! » What? A support cruiser? Decidedly, when it rains, it pours! As he demanded to a linking officer to call on a torpedoer in reinforcement, the Commander felt a disliking impression, the one of the failure, the bad luck… the one of curse.

_« __Provided that it's not… »_

But the cruiser arriving was well and good this cornerian cruiser, the one feared by the several officers made of flesh and bones in the Andross's army. The one that anyone of them would even dream to cross her way during a mission in their worst nightmares, the Great Fox.

In the intercom of the ship on the main deck, her commander took the floor to introduce him in the battle:

"Here comes Starfox, ready for combat!"

**End of**** Chapter 01 : Raid in Meteo**

**Meet the**** 44th Wind Sword soon in : **

**Chapte****r 02 : In the Heart of the Dagger**


	2. Within the Heart of the Dagger

**Chapter 02: Within the Heart of the Dagger**

« Starfox here, ready for combat! »  
This sentence may seem only worth belonging to a bad action movie, but it still did spread a feeling of strength and vigor within the troops fighting at their side of this outstanding team, whereas doubt and even panic usually stroke their enemies. One had to admit that the charisma of the pilot saying it wasn't to be debated anymore. This pilot which lost his father against Andross and which fed through his wrecking flights the hopes of a whole planet against the incarnated Evil: Fox McCloud.

"- Captain NOSEY, here is Starfox. We've received a support signal from the cornerian HQ to backup you.  
- I've got to say that I was hoping that you come late enough not to grab too much of our cake, but now you're here... Our firepower may lack against this Cruiser!  
- We are getting our fighters ready. We shall be there within five minutes.  
- Watch out the cross-fire, these Vultures seem to be Mk.8. It thinks!  
- Acknowledged, see you in a moment."

While Kaolla was transmitting the previous recordings of the battle to the Great Fox, Dockuri was still maneuvering to prevent his hull from dealing with the damages that his ES3, still auto-repairing couldn't absorb. Starfox didn't make long before launching its four Arwings into the battle. Then, a time came where the balance seemed to be against the Venomians. Their drones reserves were getting lighter and lighter while those in flight exploded faster and faster. Without the interception corvettes destroyed earlier by the 44th Wind Sword, there was no chances no to lose to half a dozen of fast and agile fighters! It didn't prevent a certain frog from calling for help several times in the tactical intercom though, but the victory looked acquired by the Cornerians and the 44th Wind Sword. As only a handful of Vultures were still operational, the venomian Cruiser anchored some communication beacons around her. Slippy Toad, the designated engineer of Starfox took the floor, and this time, that wasn't for asking assistance:

"- I'm catching a transmission from the SAC." The Ace Pilot of Starfox, Falco Lombardi added:  
"- Do ya think that they wanna surrender?  
- They wouldn't need external beacons for that, so why?  
- As If I knew!" Fox cut them to reach the one point. "Stream it on speakers Slippy."

After seconds of audio parasites, the squeaky voice of a venomian officer finally got recognizable.

"Message of the SAC-III Dagger for Inter SRB-1-34-FD. Relay the followings to the Imperial High-Command. The Operation "Night Spear" is a success. Vulture losses critical and three ILC destroyed, but the shadamar stealth device has been confounded. I repeat, we may be able to lock on the stealth fighters. Time before optimization, recompiling and transmission of the finalized data estimated as thirty minutes. We'll proceed with tests to confirm our results. SAC-III Dagger, over!"

The voice shut and the sputtering came back. A heavy silence dwelled within the cockpits of the shadamar fighters.

"- McCloud, Psyonic Leader. What does that means for you, Captain Nosey?  
- Nothing worth hesitating. We must intercept these data!" The seriousness of the situation seemed not to have caught Falco and his sarcasms:  
"- Seems that you'll have to find another trick to get free tickets for sightseeing in Lylat, wizards.  
- Falco, it's not the moment." But Kaolla didn't settled for just this remark.  
"- Hey birdie, may I remind you that without our ES3 modules, you wouldn't have been able to thwart lots of operations against Corneria. So if our "tricks" were only free tickets for a sightseeing tour in Lylat, we would have acted that way before going back home!  
- Say that to all the pilots who fight uncovered, tweety.  
- Oh my, please excuse us for being the only ones formed for the stealth flight, you bunch of…" But Kaolla stopped her.  
"- Enough! Kaolla, if that so-said pilot isn't able of appreciating the help we're providing, it's his problem. He'll find out that the ES3 technology is more than an occulting shield in due course.  
- …  
- Captain Nosey's right, Falco. Our mission here is to support the 44th Wind Sword, not to rejoice with their misadventures.  
- Tsss… Humor tends to get lost as fast as stealth devices here…  
- Falco!  
- Okay, okay. So, what's next?" Adam took the floor.  
"- A SAC-III typically fits cruise weaponry. Moreover, he flights with a Mothership, so engaging them in a close quarter battle with or without the Great Fox would be quite tricky, especially since she seems to have traded her torpedoes bay for tactical launching tracks.  
- That's true, Lieutenant Sight. We decided long ago to lay on the sole firepower of our Arwings and of the front-hull canons of the Great Fox, which is enough against light fleets."  
The old Peppy Hare, far from longing for extended combat and still until this moment tried to find an alternative:  
"- Jamming their transmission would be enough, wouldn't it?  
- Not with those auxiliary beacons. Their positions make them hardly reachable though."

Dockuri, plunged in his thoughts then took the floor back:  
"- There is only one way to get these data then… We'll get serviced by ourselves!" Falco acted as he didn't understand.  
"- What he said?" Kaolla grabbed the chance to mock the blue falcon back.  
"- Sir says we go big ship take data. Understood now, pidgin head?  
- Kaolla, please…  
- What, it was clearer said like that, wasn't it?  
- Remarks of that kind don't have a higher value than his…" But after a while, he added "Well, yep! That was better this way." with a smile through the HoloCom.

"-Well Starfox, you'll keep on catching their attention. Don't take unconsidered risks, I only want their sensors not to focus on the floating wrecks-looking ships which shall infiltrate the Dagger.  
- So, you'll really try this Captain?  
- I'm afraid that it can't be helped. Kaolla, you'll go with me. I'll need your help to hack the data. Adam, your ES3 is still working. You'll backup Starfox.  
- Got it, Leader.  
- Ok, shut the channels at my mark. Good hunt to you Starfox. Adam?  
- Yes?  
- Please stay sure that "anything lacks" for our charming flight mates…  
- I see. Don't worry for that, Dockuri."

Before splitting, Fox called Dockuri through the HoloCom. "- Beware, Nosey. We've already fought the Dagger and its Commandant is known for taking prisoners, and he does stay sure that nothing ever lacks on board for them.  
- That's acknowledged McCloud, thanks for the help."

Kaolla and Dockuri stopped their engines and the other useless devices to lower their radar signature and disappear from the enemy's screens. So they drifted and slowly got closer of the Dagger. To speak to each other without being noticed, they had to use a far less conventional way than the HoloCom. They extended their Psyosis Field-II, building a telepathic link.  
"- Are you alright Kaolla?  
- Worried, but it should be OK, thanks.  
- We'll have to hurry up, there is barely twenty minutes left!  
- I know. But still, I have an awkward feeling about that too.  
- So you drank some of that awful coffee?  
- I'm not talking about that Dock'… About this mission. I… It scares me a bit.  
- Don't worry. Stay focused and everything should happen smoothly."  
Their ships reached the hull of the Dagger after five minutes. With the help of micro cold-energy rockets, they maneuvered to get before a boarding bay, pass through the containment field and land on the deck. Dockuri and Kaolla jumped from their cockpits and stretched their limbs.  
"- Ok, take your stuff to hack their data core…  
- Me!  
- … and something to defend yourself…  
- You!  
- … which fits in a holographic holster.  
- Oh, I'll check in the cargo hold."  
That wasn't weird for Dockuri to see Kaolla more relaxed after having left her cockpit, since she was more at her ease on the ground than in a fighter. She went behind ship and opened the cargo hold between the two large lines of engine nozzles. Then, she discovered a wide arsenal containing handguns, submachine guns and even some assault rifles. Dockuri came by her and laughed "- Now I know why your ship seemed less maneuverable than usual!  
- But… What is all that doing here?"  
He picked up a BLP-15, compact and efficient and put it his thigh holster. It auto-enabled and its many captors began to mimic their surroundings to make the weapon and its support disappear. Kaolla did it too and they both headed to the door of the hangar. She stopped before opening it.  
"- So, will we act as simple tourists there?  
- No, you're right. We'll have to find a way to move under cover.  
- I don't think I have a holo-holster large enough for your body.  
- I mean some "local" uniform." He looked around him and spotted a kind of office. "It's a changing room, some work suits should be there". They changed, fastened again their holo-holsters and walked out in the corridors, looking for their precious data. The scene was poor, walls unpainted and made by a dark-toned metal which even seemed to lower the light. There were no markings on them either. They didn't meet a lot of people, and most of them were droids which didn't even act as they tried to identify them. "The identification maybe passes through some kind of integrated chips within the suits to see if one's a mechanist or an officer." After a while of wanderings, they entered a long and door less alley. As they did, two officers entered the corridor too, in the opposite sense. They were at twenty meters of Dockuri and Kaolla, hidden by the darkness of the place when he noticed a painted marking on the wall.  
"- Err… It seems that the access of that part of the ship is restricted.  
- Crap, and we can't go back, they must have noticed us now!" In effect, they did and were now definitely heading to their position.  
"- An idea, Kaolla?  
- Turn to face me!  
- What?  
- Do what I say for a while!" did she say with a smile. So Dockuri rotated on his heels. Then she jumped at him, making her beak dive into the mouth of the blue cat, as usually done for a long and languorous kiss. This pressed him against the opposite wall, with her holding him tight. The two officers arrived and dropped a severe "This is not the appropriated moment for that. Return to your assignments immediately!" before leaving their position. Kaolla broke the kiss, smiled again and smoothly handled her handgun from her holo-holster. Dockuri understood what it did mean after a second and did the same and aligned the head of the venomian at the left. Together, they shot once and hurried to silently fetch and hide the bodies. Then, they exchanged their uniforms. Turned into officers, Kaolla and Dockuri wouldn't have to remain unnoticed anymore in the corridors of the Dagger. When he glanced at his watch, Dockuri saw that time hadn't stopped and increased the pace. Fortunately, the high-quarters of the ship, designed for bones and blood made officers was richer in term of informative markings, so that they didn't have to search for the external transmissions room long. In front of the entry panel, they got however blocked by an identification device based on a password determined by an ocular and a digital footprint analysis. Dockuri looked up and saw a grid leading to the air conditioning pipes. "So, we bypass that crap this way?" He concentrated his psyonic field one more time and the time seemed to lower its rhythm around him. He now could feel the vibes of the engines of the ship, the walking of the officers on the other decks but especially the pulsations of the security grids in the pipe.  
"- Huh... I hope you're in a good health today.  
- Laser grids?  
- Three at least, Pulse-VII type apparently."  
Kaolla dropped a telepathic curse word before nodding. "Ok, let's go."  
Psyosis concentrated under his feet; Dockuri jumped and caught the grid with him as he entered the pipe. Kaolla joined him after being sure that the noise that Dockuri obviously didn't contained didn't alert anything. "That was not very stealthy!" After a minute of wanderings, they reached the first security grid. He stacked at the left of the pipe to let Kaolla get closer of the device. She inspected it carefully and sighed when she concluded that the only way to pass through would be to deflect the rays. She deeply inspired and concentrated to materialize her own psyonic protection field: the E.M.Field. Its complex network of particles immediately made the grid collapse. With a painful grin, she demanded Dockuri to hurry up. Unfortunately for her, two other grids were to be passed before reaching an exit panel.  
"- Are you sure it's there?  
- Should be. I'm gonna check that." Dockuri extended his field so it covered the whole room below and mentally explored it. "I've got three echoes, quite weak though." Silently, he disassembled the grid and observed the three scientists busy with their data compiling task. They seemed not to have finished though. Kaolla strafed right to glance too. Under the handgun in the holo-holster, Dockuri grabbed the invisible grip of a knife and pulled it. Out of his stealthing field, it materialized back while Kaolla was also handling her knife. Then, she dropped herself through the frame and smoothly landed. None of the venomians noticed her, since they definitely were focused on their work. Dockuri followed and touched the soil as silently as Kaolla, light as a feather. They stood back to back.  
"- I'll take care of the closest of the alarm panel, there. You take the one by the main computer. We'll improvise for the last one.  
- Would you mind if we just neutralize them? They're only scientists after all...  
- So they would do their job again after, and doing it twice the speed by memory after their awakening, wouldn't they?  
- ... You're right. We just can't fly without our ES3.  
- Wait wait! We could make them "have a rest" so we could hum... check their work?  
- I like that, thanks Dock'!"  
They rotated their knives and turned the pommels to switch on the electro-shockwave mode. Dockuri approached his target and densified his psyonic field for a short moment in order to suppress any sound in a radius of a meter. In his silence bubble, he plunged the pommel of his knife in the back of the engineer as he put his other hand on his mouth. The Shockwave efficiently made him faint and Dockuri held his body to silently put him against the wall. He turned on his heels and saw Kaolla behind the one stuck before his screen. In order not to warn them, he would have to neutralize the third one at the same moment than Kaolla. He made his blade slide in his hand and stood in the throwing stance. At his mark, he launched it. While Kaolla was taking care of her target, the knife flew and as for the previous one, it's the pommel which hit its back.

"- I'll try to manipulate them so they won't have suspicions when they'll wake up. You, proceed with this computer.  
- What type of "checking" would you like me to perform?  
- Calibrate them on another distortion frequency, we'll use that as lures."  
Kaolla immediately began to type on the big keyboard in front of her. Meanwhile, Dockuri focused to try to make their strike look like an awful headache in the mind of the scientists. "It shouldn't be long. This OS is far from being the most secured…" But Dockuri wasn't already listening to her. Out of time and his surroundings, his soul was browsing the psyche of the first engineer. To him, mental manipulation had never been a health course, in terms of technical performance as much as for its purpose. He was careful since he knew that interactions at that level couldn't be completely "mind proof" if he didn't act properly. So he broke the unconscious E.M. Field of the venomian in the smoothest way possible. Modify his short term memory took him a while before he could handle the next one. Kaolla was still navigating between the different systems of the room, periodically whispering some commands parameters or that she had well advanced, that it would be finished soon…

Meanwhile, on the main deck of the Dagger, the Commander fed up with waiting called for his subordinate.  
"- Drenz! Where are those damn data?  
- It seems that it takes more time than estimated, Sir.  
- We were already late according to the initial planning, that's intolerable!  
- But… Sir, they surely are doing their best.  
- So go make them advance faster, now!"  
He might have not known that he was sending him to the two Shadamars. In the room where Drenz was heading to, Kaolla was stealthing the modifications that she made when Dockuri suddenly stood, halting. "- That last one was really… twisted!  
- I don't even want to know more about that… Well, I just have to edit the main log file and it will be finished.  
- Well done Kaolla!"  
As she proceeded, he began to move the inert bodies of the scientists so that they think that they just fell asleep. Suddenly, he felt the psyonic signature of someone incoming. A series of beeps sounded, followed by the noise of a sliding metal panel. The one coming in was anybody else than Captain Drenz who entered the intermediate room. There only was a single door separating him from Dockuri and Kaolla.  
"- Someone approaches, have you done?  
- Nearly!  
- When the door opens, act as you've just neutralized the scientist." He hardened his grip on the one he was holding so he made him stand. In his room, Drenz went ahead to reach the final door. His little height made him have to jump several times to proceed with the last identification device. His day would be a bad scale one until the end… But finally, he succeeded in granting his access and unlocked the door.  
As it slid aside, he barely had the time to raise his glance and ask why it was so long that he saw the inanimate body of a lizard wearing a white lab coat hitting the wall next to him. "What's the…?" He froze when he also saw Kaolla neutralizing the one sat before a screen with a reverse strike of the elbow in his neck. He wouldn't have guessed that they had fainted ten minutes ago though. He looked back in front of him and saw a blue cat point a handgun at him, ordering to stay still. Drenz didn't want to risk his life, so he firstly obeyed and ducked. But at the moment when Dockuri looked back and acted like he wanted Kaolla to begin to hack the data, he plunged to the alarm panel. But the blue feline didn't mean to increase the number of guests at the party and shot a blast of shots at his back. The mortal projectiles were to hit him but an immaterial barrier appeared in the way and absorbed all the impacts. This barrier, Dockuri knew it well. Petrified, he unsteadily asked without even noticing the strident noise of the alarm: "Ka… Kaolla… Tell me that I'm mistaken and that it was yours…" But she didn't answered and would have been useless. Dockuri perfectly knew that the psyonic signature of that E.M. Field wasn't matching Kaolla's. He barely had the time to react that a dozen of guardian-droids were already getting inside the room to catch the intruders. As he saw the masses of metal, Dockuri finally came round "- Kaolla, and for the data?  
- In da' box!  
- Ok, act as you surrender the whole thing." Then, he left the compact silhouette of Drenz on the ground and aimed one by one the droids with his BLP-15. Kaolla did the same, using the consoles and the seats of the room as successive covers. "- Get back in the pipe, we're leaving!  
- And what about the E.M. Field?  
- If that bastard wants to fight, he'll come, just hurry up now!"  
When an occasion to flee occurred, Dockuri jumped from the smoking wreck of a previously shot droid to provide a cover fire to Kaolla. She jumped on the wall, and then again to enter the pipe through the ceiling. But a time came when the bolt of his BLP-15 got stuck in the rear position. He decided to throw his handgun at the head of a droid and handled again his knife. Thanks to its high Psyosis-reflective alloy, Dockuri would be able to concentrate his Field-II on the blade so he could deflect the laser rays which wouldn't stop rushing on him. But supplying a Time Lapse to anticipate the trajectories of the droids and concentrating his psyonic field on the blade got too much exhausting after several minutes. Suddenly, he heard the metallic noise of a small can hitting the ground followed by a telepathic "Yogoooouurt!" from Kaolla. He recognized the code for a photonic-saturation grenade, in other words, a Flash-Bang one so he could hide his eyes under his arm. When the room wasn't filled with a dense white halo anymore, the droids which entered the room found nothing more than anyone, both Shadamars had vanished! Drenz took his time to gather his mind back then he stood to enable the intercom on the alarm panel.  
"- Sir, they disappeared!  
- Nobody can instantly disappear, stroll the whole ship!  
- Yes Comm…  
- I said execution, don't loose another single second!"  
On the main deck, one of the communication officers interpellated the Commander:  
"-Sir, I have a direct link from Venom, Code 12-1.  
- The Emperor himself? Transmit on Holographic!"  
At barely dozens of centimeters before him, the dark and imposing shape materialized. He bowed in sign of respect, the Commander, masking the fact that he was taller than his master of at least twenty centimeters.  
«- Your lateness is unusual, Commander! How can you justify this?  
- Our ship had been infiltrated by a shadamar commando, My Emperor. But we shall smoke them out soon, it's only a matter of time.  
- Don't make me have to call for Cleaners for you, this would be… unwelcomed…  
- It… It shall not be necessary, I can tell.  
- What I can tell as necessary, it is that I get what I want! Send me those data or you'll perish with it, under the fire of those forsaken lylatians or mine, is this understood?  
- It… It shall be done as you desire, My Emperor."  
And the hologram disappeared. Sweat was dripping on his forehead and a loud atmosphere had dwelled in the commandment room. He would have to take care of that burden of Shadamars himself, as in the "good old days"…

**End of Chapter 02: Within the Heart of the Dagger**

**Meet th****e 44th Wind Sword soon in: **

**Chap****ter 03: Psyken Strikers**


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